Several Republican congressmen from the Sunshine State are backing U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie’s, R-Ky., “Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act.”
Massie introduced the bill which “assists middle-class seniors by eliminating the unjust double-tax on Social Security benefits” last week.
“Although seniors have already paid tax on their Social Security contributions via the payroll tax, they are still required to list these benefits as taxable income on their tax returns,” said Massie. “This is simply a way for Congress to obtain more revenue for the federal government at the expense of seniors who have already paid into Social Security. My bill would exempt Social Security retirement benefits from taxation and boost the retirement income of millions of older Americans.”
Three Republicans from Florida–Matt Gaetz, Bill Posey and Dan Webster–are among the 16 co-sponsors.
Webster has backed the proposal in recent years and he doubled down on his support of Massie’s bill this week.
“For decades, seniors have paid into Social Security with their tax dollars. Now, when many seniors are on a fixed income and struggling financially, they are being double-taxed because of income taxes on their Social Security benefits,” said Webster. “This is wrong and I’m pleased to once again co-sponsor this legislation to repeal this tax.”
Bob Carlstrom, the president and founder of the Association of Mature American Citizens, also went to bat for the proposal this week.
“Every year, millions of seniors become eligible for either Social Security or tier I railroad retirement benefits. After working for decades, paying taxes on their hard-earned income to fund these federal programs, some seniors are forced to pay income tax on the benefits they receive from the federal government. Taxing benefits which were created from already taxed funds is nonsensical and curtails retirement benefits seniors have been promised. Seniors deserve to reap the full benefits of their hard work from career-long contributions to Social Security and the Railroad Retirement Plan,” said Carlstrom.
“The Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act will amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the inclusion of tier I railroad retirement benefits and Social Security benefits in an individual’s gross income. As this legislation takes effect, seniors will notice their tax liability is significantly reduced, and will no longer deal with the ‘double tax’ on their federally earned benefits,” he added.
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
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